Unsettling news and disturbing footage has emerged from Six Flags Over Georgia. Yes, this is a Disney podcast, but when it comes to ride systems and guest safety, it’s a small world. With shared manufacturers, there is lots of overlap between all of these, and when something jarring like this happens, it becomes everyone’s focus–as it should be. We look at what happened on the Goliath Hyper Coaster, but then look across the Six Flags portfolio. We compare it to Disney’s safety record and the hard realities about how many fatalities and deaths have occurred at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. With that we consider what’s working and what needs improvement and how Disney is seeking to improve it. Finally, we look at the biggest safety challenge–the one any theme park struggles to control–and that is you! Join us as we go from Disney to Six Flags–it’s about safety and fatalities.

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This podcast is produced by myself and Performance Journeys, which offers training, development and consultant support to organizations big and small and entrepreneurs new and established. With a wide variety of resources and long-time in-the-trench experience, we offer workshops, online learning, coaching and more to organizations that want to build their teams, raise organizational excellence, improve leadership and create customer loyalty. Check us out at PerformanceJourneys.com. 

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The following is a summary of what we discuss on the podcast. Imagery and additional links will help you to better get a sense of what this land has come to represent.

Goliath & Siblings

• Goliath has a “scalloped-like bucket seat with a waist restraint that sits on the top of the thigh and part of the waist.
• Still there is no secondary restraint. If the waist restraint fails, what holds you in?
• POV shows something fairly smooth with lots of ups and downs.
• In this instance 42 year old Hassan Jihand Ibn Kariem was ejected from his seat according to images captured by others. He then struck other passengers and the ride multiple times before he fully ejected and fell to the roof of a building below. First responders found him dead at the scene.
• Four others were injured and some taken to the hospital
• Goliath is a Hyper Coaster–Typically 200-299 feet in height. This one is right at 200 ft. It reaches speeds of 70 mph.
• Matterhorn is 147 feet tall. Tower of Terror is 199 feet tall
• A Giga Coaster is between 300 and 399 feet
• A Strata Coaster is between 400 and 499 feet
• Falcon’s Flight is in Six Flags over in Saudi Arabia at over 534 feet. That’s at 155 mph.
• Mako at SeaWorld is the same type of coaster that is 200 feet tall, making it a hyper coaster. Temporarily closed
• Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia was built by B&M or Bolliger and Mabillard. It is a Swiss company.
• There are four coasters named Goliath in Six Flag’s portfolio but they are not all the same. Only one of the four is also a B&M coaster.
• Six Flags has temporarily shut down nine other coasters in the wake of this. Their similarity is that that all but one are created by B&M The 9th coaster is also called Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain. But it’s not built by B&M
• In its history, B&M has constructed 136 roller coasters, 133 of which are still operating, and 18 of which are of the same type as Goliath.

The National Review created a very thoughtful perspective on this. Check out that article.

IAAPA, which is the amusement industries professional association notes this:

• In a typical year, more than 385 million guests safely enjoyed in excess of 1.7 billion rides at approximately 400 North American fixed-site facilities.
• The chance of being seriously injured on a fixed-site ride at a U.S. amusement park is 1 in 15.5 million rides taken.
• One injury is one too many and the industry is continuously working to enhance all aspects of safety.

But just driving a car, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 7,770 people died during the first three months of 2026.

Six Flags

• Owns some 34 parks-20 amusement and 14 water parks (Hurricane Harbor)
• In 2025, it did some 47.4 million guests
• Owns international parks in Mexico and Saudi Arabia
• Recently purchased Cedar Point, Kings Dominion and Island Knott’s Berry Farm–some 11 parks and 4 separately gated water parks in an 8 billion merger
• Owns Schlitterbahn–home of many water park ride technologies like Master Blaster
• Master Blaster technology is used on Crush ‘n’ Gusher and on the AquaDucks and AquaMouses found on the Disney Cruise Line
• 35 ride-related deaths have happened since 1961
• Six flags has temporarily closed nine other hyper coasters
• Six flags recently shut down X2 permanently at Magic Mountain a couple of weeks ago, due to an overwhelming number of people–some 100 according to attorneys–reporting brain injuries as well as a fatality back in 2022 due to brain bleeding.
• “Although the company carries liability insurance to cover possible incidents, coverage may not be adequate to cover liabilities (and) the company may not be able to obtain coverage at commercially reasonable rates,” the company warned in its annual financial filing at the start of this year.
• X, also known as the fourth-dimension coaster–was and original coaster that put Arrow Dynamics out of business in 2002 trying to get the first one right. Arrow built the original Mr. Toad and Snow White ride systems plus the Mad Tea Party, boats for Small World and Pirates and also the Omnimover It also built the Corkscrew for Knott’s Berry Farm–First coaster with an inversion. And yes…the first steel roller coaster–Bobsleds on the Matterhorn.

Following image is from a law firm specializing on Disney Fatalities in North America:

Disney

• In many ways, Disney has a better track record. Not a perfect track record, but one that is pretty good when you consider that Walt Disney World theme parks and water parks alone are north of 50 million a year.
• Sailing Ship Columbia in 1998 where a heavy metal cleat tore loose and hit a 33 year old man was the first guest death not attributable to any negligence on the part of the guest.
• B&M has made zero attractions for Disney There may be several reasons for this such as Ride Intensity and Height Restrictions; Imagineering writes and customizes its own ride programming; Disney insists on thematic details; B&M can be more off-the-rack
• Disney has its own history of riders being injured and killed on attractions. It has a better safety history given the bigger volume
• According to DiMarco Araujo and Montevideo injury attorneys in Southern California there have been 104 fatalities caused by 200 separate incidents between 1964 and 2025
• 32 people have died at Disneyland Resorts and 72 at Walt Disney World
• Park Employees accounted for 18% of those fatalities
• 2025 was the highest number of any year with seven fatalities
• The most common cause of death is Natural Causes (28), Suicide (15) and Drowning (11). The three account for over 52% of all reported fatalities
• Only nine of the fatal incidents were caused by a direct accident involving the ride, such as a defective mechanism or a guest falling from a ride vehicle.
• 2003 Blunt force trauma to a 22 year old man on Big Thunder Mountain due to improper maintenance.
• All that said, there are more opportunities for Safety.
• Disney Safety & AI–See the patent drawing below on improvements Disney is making to safety.

Safety & You

• Limit Your Drinking–I’ve loved these parks for decades and I’ve never needed a drink to absolutely enjoy it.
• Read the signs and follow the instructions
• Know your body–don’t push it beyond its capabilities
• Be careful of where you’re walking and how much of that walking is spent in front of a mobile device
• Keep an eye on children and water

Disneyland Insights: Inspiration, Ideas & Magic for You and Your Organization

For over a year I’ve been capturing and sharing stories of Disneyland, while creating a new online tool for you to explore all of them in one place. It’s called Disneyland Insights: Inspiration, Ideas & Magic for You and Your Organization and it’s an interactive, multimedia experience. This is truly designed for those who are seeking to find new ideas that will guide you to 

1. Provide Individual & Organizational Leadership Excellence
2. Create Employee Engagement & a Team Culture
3. Offer a Superior Customer Experience

Not only does the content through examples, stories and models play to these themes, but each section provides “Souvenirs for You and Your Organization”. They are reflective questions that may be used to better the work or operation you may be lead or be part of. And in that instance, it is more of a business focus. In fact, many may utilize funding set aside in their organization for training and development to purchase this volume.

Click here to order Disneyland Insights: Inspiration, Ideas & Magic for You and Your Organization. It’s also available on the show notes page of our podcast. Whether you’re on a comfy sofa at home or on Main Street, U.S.A. this experience allows you to navigate through all nine lands to explore some 100 locations where you can find Disney insights that will be inspire and guide you and your organization. 

Books From Your Host at Disney Insights

Also, if you’re looking to grab something today, go to Amazon where you will find four of my books available for purchase. Three explore Disney at length, and one explores world class businesses to include Disney. Check them out!

My newest book, A Century of Powerful Disney Insights, Volume I 1923-1973, The Walt & Roy Disney Years is available! 

Also, check out my two of my other books, The Wonderful World of Customer Service at Disney and Disney, Leadership and You. 

Also, for those examining other business benchmarks beyond Disney, check out Lead with Your Customer: Transform Culture and Brand Into World-Class Excellence.

Thanks for joining us for this podcast. Know that as in the title of my organization, Performance Journeys, it’s as much about the journey as it is about performance. Find the second star to the right, and keep going straight on till you reach it. Follow the compass of your heart, and know that with a smile and a song, a little faith, effort and pixie dust, your dreams can come true. After all, if we can dream it, we can do it. Until next time, bright suns, we’ll see you real soon!